Cultural Heritage Preservation, CAS

Contact:

Jill Hurst-Wahl, 208 Hinds Hall, (315) 443-1070, igrad@syr.edu

Overview:

The Certificate of Advanced Study in Cultural Heritage Preservation is a 15-credit hour, graduate-level certificate designed for students currently pursuing another graduate degree or as post-baccalaureate work. This program is only offered to campus-based students. Housed in the iSchool, the program is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Information Studies, Anthropology, and Museum Studies.

Recipients of the Cultural Heritage certificate are provided with an interdisciplinary grounding in the preservation of cultural heritage. This includes opportunities to focus on such areas as:

the application of digital approaches to heritage preservation;
the basics of historic site preservation;
the management and interpretation of cultural resources; and
the collection, preservation, and curation of archeological artifacts, archival materials, ethnographic data, and museum collections.

The certificate program is intended to prepare students to work with organizations such as libraries, museums, National Parks, and State and local agencies in preserving cultural resources.

The Certificate of Advanced Study in Cultural Heritage Preservation requires the completion of 15 credits: 3 units of required courses, 6-9 units of elective courses, 3-6 units of internships.

Because students enter the program with different educational and experiential backgrounds, they will work with program advisors to determine the most appropriate ratio of coursework to internships.

Student Learning Outcomes

1.Gain an interdisciplinary grounding in the basic theories and issues of cultural heritage preservation.

2.Be exposed to the application of digital approaches to the preservation of heritage collections, including archives, libraries, and museums

3.Be introduced to professional practices in the management and interpretation of a broad range of cultural resources, both human-made and natural.

4.Appreciate the role played by tourism and cultural economics.

5.Be prepared to work with or for organizations such as libraries, museums, National Parks, and State and local agencies in preserving and presenting cultural resources.

Curriculum:

I. Required Courses (3 credits)

IST 622 - Introduction to Preservation of Cultural Heritage 3 credit(s)

II. Electives (6-9 credits)

Students will complete three of the following elective courses. At least two of the three courses must be from outside of the student’s primary program of study:

ANT 644 - Laboratory Analysis in Archaeology 3 credit(s)
ANT 682 - Life Histories/Narratives 3 credit(s)
ANT 645 - Public Policy and Archaeology 3 credit(s)
ANT 461 - Museums and Native Americas 3 credit(s)
IST 616 - Information Resources: Organization and Access 3 credit(s)
IST 624 - Preservation of Library and Archival Collections 3 credit(s)
IST 628 - Organization/Management of Archival Collections 3 credit(s)
IST 632 - Management and Organization of Special Collections 3 credit(s)
IST 677 - Creating, Managing, and Preserving Digital Assets 3 credit(s)
IST 715 - LAMS: Libraries, Archives, Museums 3 credit(s)
MUS 500 - Selected Topics 1-6 credit(s)
MUS 506 - Ethnographic Curatorship 3 credit(s)
MUS 607 - Collections Management 3 credit(s)
MUS 703 - Fine Art Curatorship 3 credit(s)

Other Courses for Elective Credit(s)

With consent of program advisors, a student may petition to substitute other courses for elective credit towards the CAS.

III. Internship (3-6 credits)

Students will work at an institution, agency, or community organization for their 150-hour internship(s).

These may be at the same organization or at two different organizations, but should be completed in different semesters. Students will report to both an on-site supervisor and a faculty internship advisor during the process, and the on-site supervisor will evaluate the student’s activities at the end of each semester.

The faculty internship advisor can be a faculty member from Information Studies, Museum Studies, or Anthropology. The internships may be taken either as ANT 670 , MUS 670 , or IST 971 , or upon approval of the appropriate program advisor. By petition, the student may receive 150 hours of credit upon completion.

IV. Summation

In their final semester students will:

Bring together documentation (e.g., papers, internship projects, presentations) into a portfolio that will adequately present their accomplishments and contributions during their course of study and internship experiences and;
Write a paper reflecting on their education and preparation for a professional position.

This summation is a requirement for the completion of the CAS degree.